Legal Counsel

IDEMIA Secure Transactions , a division of IDEMIA Group, is the leading technology provider making it safer and easier to pay and connect. With unmatched expertise in cryptography and credential issuance, IST is trusted by over 2,000 financial institutions, mobile operators, automotive manufacturers, and IoT providers worldwide. Every day, IST secures billions of essential transactions, ensuring the highest levels of data protection and convenience.

Role Structure : This position can be hybrid in our Chantilly, VA or Exton, PA facilities or remote depending on the right candidate

Position Overview : We are looking for an entrepreneurial and self-motivated Legal Counsel to be responsible for sales and purchasing transactions and other corporate generalist duties (e.g., litigation, corporate governance, employment law, and compliance) for the IDEMIA Secure Transactions (IST) Division in North America. This role requires deep expertise in commercial contracting and intellectual property, especially within industries involving manufactured products, software licensing, and cloud-based digital services. The ideal candidate will be a tech savvy, business-oriented professional with exceptional project management skills, who thrives in a global, face-paced environment. Proficiency in Spanish, Portuguese or French (written and spoken) is a plus.

Under the lead of the Chief Legal Officer for the IST Division and the Head of Legal, NORAM, the Legal Counsel is a member of the global and agile IST Legal team (around 30 Legal Counsels and legal professionals all around the world), who contributes to achieving business goals while ensuring compliance and managing legal risks.

The mission of the Legal Counsel is to provide qualified and efficient transactional and generalist support to the IST business in North America, and thereby protect IST and contribute to achieving IST targets, value creation and business growth, operational excellence, profitability and risk control, to protect investment in technology, know-how and marketing, to ensure handling of information of IDEMIA and others with the proper degree of care, and to support the IST Legal team in securing compliance in operations with relevant local and international regulations in the field of data privacy, ethics and compliance or antitrust.

Areas of Responsibility:

Transactional Support

• Review, draft, negotiate, and process a wide variety of commercial agreements and bid documents with domestic or international customers, partners, and suppliers, including contracts for sale, resale, purchase, non-disclosure agreements, licenses, and cloud-based services.
• Provide guidance during contract performance and notably analyze contract requirements and provisions as well as legal issues that might impact the business and implement remedial actions like claims and settlements.
• Secure proper leadership approval for critical legal, financial, and technical terms.

Legal Advisory

• Advise senior leadership on litigation risks, strategies, and regulatory compliance, with a focus on antitrust, ethics, anti-corruption, and data privacy laws.
• Analyze and communicate potential regulatory impacts to the business and suggest corrective actions as needed.

Litigation and Pre-Litigation Management

• Advise on all aspects of litigation and pre-litigation, including investigations, strategy development, discovery, trial preparation, settlement negotiations, and responses to subpoenas, court orders, and warrants.
• Collaborate with external counsel and insurers, monitor progress, and manage legal costs.

Corporate Activities

• Support the management of local insurance policies in liaison with local or global insurance brokers.
• Support the company’s corporate secretarial work, including preparation of powers of attorney and minutes of shareholder or board meetings.

Policy and Process Development

• Support the development and implementation of legal and contractual processes and guidelines.
• Conduct training sessions for internal teams on key legal, compliance, and contract-related topics.

Compliance Monitoring

• Stay informed about changes in laws and regulations, assess their impact, and assist in updating agreements, policies, and procedures to maintain compliance.
• Ensure consistent application of company governance and compliance frameworks.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with the IST Legal team and other internal stakeholders across regions to support seamless legal operations and knowledge sharing.

Qualifications:

• 4-8 years of business transactional work experience in a tech industry (ideally with some experience in Fintech or the ICT industry), gained in a corporate legal department of a multinational company or in private practice at a top-tier U.S. law firm.
• Juris Doctor (JD) degree from an accredited U.S. law school.
• Admitted to practice law and active and in good standing before at least one state’s bar association.
• Strong track record in negotiating and drafting agreements, including complex business transactions.
• Ability to analyse contracts, assess risks, and provide actionable insights.
• Solid skills in litigation, intellectual property, employment, antitrust, anti-bribery and data privacy laws.
• Business-oriented mindset with a solid understanding of basic financial reporting.